a social hierarchy, and exactly the same can be said of posting
selfies on Facebook or Instagram. Here we explore what these
images actually represent in relation to gender, ethnicity,
class and age, and what meanings different codes and norms
have and have had. The exhibition will include a slide show on
body language by the actor Ann Petrén, interacting with our
portraits. In parallel with the display, Selfies – Now and Then
will also be presented on the Nationalmuseum’s website. And
both in the exhibition and online, our visitors will be invited
to engage actively with the project in various ways.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606–1669)
Self-Portrait, 1630
W
hat are the characteris-tics of a selfie? We would argue that it is not, as is now claimed, a completely new visual genre, but one firmly rooted in the Western tradition of the self-portrait. As Rembrandt has done here, artists paint their own portrait by looking at themselves in a mirror. It is a process marked by slowness, depth and introspection, while the modern-day selfie, with its cropped, from-above perspective, seeks to give the impression of being the work of a moment, improvised and laid-back. And yet, both as a pictorial construction and in rela- tion to body language, fashion and social conventions, it recalls the practised pose we adopt when we view ourselves in a bathroom mirror.
MG
Oil on copper, 15.5r12 cm
Presented by the Friends of the Nationalmuseum 1956 Nationalmuseum, NM 5324
Gustave Courbet (1819–1877)
Jo, the Beautiful Irish Girl, 1866
T
his painting is of JoannaHeffernan, who was the model and mistress of both Whistler and Courbet. Female models in the 19th century had low status, being viewed as little more than a commodity and the property of the male artists. When Jo exam- ined herself in the mirror, therefore, it was a vital act, as she was entirely dependent on her appearance to make a living. In the consumer culture of our own day, women are defined by their appearance, as objects, not allowed to age and con- trolled by their weight. A new study of young people’s media behaviour in Sweden shows that girls as young as ten market themselves using manipulated selfies with ‘duck face’ poses, while boys mostly play com- puter games and have dynamic but unmoved ‘stone face’ poses as their physical ideal.
MG
Oil on canvas, 54r65 cm
Presented by the Friends of the Nationalmuseum 1926 Nationalmuseum, NM 2543
Image of the actress Ann Petrén from her slide show on stereotypes and body language.
Justus van Egmont (1601–1674)
Queen Christina as Minerva, 1654
H
istory has seen changingviews of gender, but in many of today’s selfies we still find gender norms created back in the 19th century. In the 17th century, gender roles were more transformative, as this por- trait of Queen Christina of Sweden demonstrates. Christina showed great skill in promoting herself and the expanding major power over which she reigned. Even after her abdication, she marketed herself as Alexandra Regina – queen of all Europe, using a gender-transcending symbolic language that broke with the conventions of the day. Here she is portrayed as Minerva, Roman goddess of war and the arts. Christina was presumably what we would now call transsexual, and attempted to change her gender with the help of alchemy.
MG
Oil on canvas, 114r87.5 cm Presented by Herman Wrangel
Nationalmuseum, Swedish National Portrait Gallery, NMGrh 1853
Gaspar de Crayer (1584–1669)
Anne of Austria, c. 1610
P
ower elites down the ageshave always marked their group identity using symbols and external attributes. From the Renaissance to the late 18th century, portraits were important in promot- ing an aristocratic ideal that is now perceived as androgynous and gender-transcending, but which has its roots in the court culture of Europe. The aristocratic role was a form of social choreography that sought to balance body, movement, expression and costume in a perfect picture of nobility. The extravagant luxury consumption of the time controlled the entire lifestyle of the individual, which had to be geared to his or her place in the social hierarchy. Not being able to live up to what was expected meant a loss of social standing.
MG
Oil on canvas, 144r118 cm
Transferred from the Royal Museum 1866 (Prague 1648) Nationalmuseum, NM 408
Alexander Roslin (1718–1793)
The Lady with the Veil, 1768
T
his portrait is one of the Nationalmuseum’s most popular paintings, but few are aware that it represents a French female artist, Marie Suzanne Giroust, who was married to Alexander Roslin. In the 18th century, theatre was an important part of society life in the cities. Dressing up, disguising oneself and playing a part was a common form of entertainment, just as it is today when role-play games are so popular in social media. The fan which the figure is playing with expresses the seductiveness of a life devoted to enjoyment and pleasure, a characteristic of the elite culture of the period, but also one that is reflected in the consumer aesthetic of our own day. The fan acted as an extension of body language, putting the focus on hands and gestures, whose varying expressions were seen as defining a person’s identity.MG
Oil on canvas, 65r54 cm
Presented by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, 1945 Nationalmuseum, NM 4098
Eva Bonnier (1857–1909)
The Housekeeper, Brita Maria (Mussa) Banck, 1890
B
oth the modern selfie and therealistic portrait of the 19th century are informed by a desire to capture people in everyday moments in their own environment. The Realists were interested in describing reality. The detailed setting was intended to provide a chain of clues to the character of the person depicted. Eva Bonnier has chosen to paint the family’s house- keeper Maria Banck (1830–1906) reading the newspaper, and not in her professional role. She is portrayed as a strong but worn-out woman, and as a person who knows her own mind. This is one of the few portraits in the Nationalmuseum not repre- senting people from different elites. The collections include only a scatter- ing of portraits of non-whites and individuals from working-class backgrounds.
MG
Oil on canvas, 112r86 cm Purchased 1990
Nationalmuseum, Swedish National Portrait Gallery, NMGrh 4026